SEVENTEEN
Madelyn
“Baby girl! What the hell happened?”
Holden rushes into the room, not stopping until he’s at my side. Panting heavily, he starts looking me over, not giving me a chance to answer his barrage of questions. “Why are you here alone? How did you get here? Where’s David?”
He’s panicked. And worried. So worried. This is exactly what I didn’t want. The reason I didn’t call anyone.
“Relax, Holden. I’m fine. Take a minute to breathe and I’ll answer your questions.”
I don’t get the chance to give him the answers. The doctor comes in with my x-rays in his hands.
“It’s definitely broken, Mrs. Sterling.” He looks up, noticing the new person in the room and moves to shake Holden’s hand. “Hello, I’m Dr. Stephens.”
“Holden. Madelyn’s brother.”
“Ah, yes. I’m glad the nurses were able to get ahold of you.”
“You called him?” I ask.
“I’m your emergency contact, sis.”
Well, shit. I guess I screwed myself with that one. I’ve never had anything changed. Not even my last name. Not legally. I’m not sure anyone even realizes that, not even David. That would require him to actually be home and pay attention to me.
Dr. Stephens clears his throat. Holding up one of the x-ray images, he points to a specific area. “Your arm is fractured here, but it’s a clean break. We should be able to set it and cast it without surgery, which is good news. How’s your pain level?”
“Only about a two right now. Whatever medicine the nurse gave me is starting to kick in.”
“Good. We’re going to give you a local anesthesia, so you shouldn’t feel any pain while we reset the bone. After that, we’ll splint your arm and go for another round of x-rays. If everything looks good, I’ll go ahead and cast it today and you’ll be able to go home. Any questions?”
The pain medicine isn’t letting me think clearly, so I can’t come up with anything to ask. I’ve never broken a bone before, but it all seems pretty straightforward.
“Not that I can think of,” I answer honestly.
“Perfect. I’ll be back shortly, and we’ll get you fixed up.”
“Thank you.”
I close my eyes, exhausted from the effects of the medicine and the stress of the day.
Lips touch my forehead and Holden tells me he’ll be back in a few minutes. In the back of my mind, I know that I still haven’t given him any explanation as to what happened. I’ll have to give him answers eventually, but I’ll put it off while I can.
I don’t want to lie to him. But I can’t tell him the truth.
I wake sometime later when the doctor comes back into the room, a nurse following close behind. Holden is sitting in the uncomfortable looking chair beside my bed. His expression is almost unreadable. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but whatever it is has him looking worried, sad, and angry, all at the same time. I smile, trying to lessen his worry, but his expression doesn’t change.
By the time the doctor is finished setting and splinting my arm, Holden still hasn’t said a word. He’s asked to step outside while they take another x-ray, and he’s just as quiet when he returns. Dr. Stephens and the nurse—whose name I can’t remember—excuse themselves, promising to return shortly.
As soon as they’re gone, I turn to Holden to tell him what happened. The lies spill from my lips easily as I give him the same simple story I gave the doctor and nurses. I tripped coming down the stairs and my arm smacked against the railing on the way down. I couldn’t get ahold of David because he’s at work, so I drove myself to the emergency room.
The last part is the only truth.
I don’t tell him that David lost his temper. Grabbed my arms so hard I can feel the bruising down to my bones. Threw me down the stairs because for some reason he still thinks I’m unfaithful. How he continued to yell at me while I held my arm and cried in agony from the pain. After all that, he walked away like nothing happened. Got in his car and drove away. Left me lying there, bruised and broken.
No, Holden can’t know. I can’t tell him that David has hit me more than once. Left me with scars so deep I fear they’ll never heal. Every day I walk on glass, afraid something I do will set him off. And the worst part? I feel like I deserve it.
So I keep my lips sealed tightly. I lie and I deny while I pay my penance for the mistakes I’ve made. My selfish choices got me to where I am today, so I live in the hell I’ve created for myself while I suffer in silence.
“Mads?” His voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “You trailed off. You okay?”
Quickly blinking back tears before he sees them, I offer him a smile with a side of excuses. “Yeah, sorry. The medicine they gave me is messing with my head, I think. My arm still hurts a bit.”
Fiddling with a frayed string on the blanket beneath me, I look away, hiding my eyes from Holden. I hate lying, especially to him.
The bed shifts, and my big brother takes my hand.
“Baby girl, we need to talk.” He pauses, giving me a chance to look at him. I don’t. “I talked to the doctor while you were sleeping, Mads. I’m just gonna come out and say it. The doctor doesn’t think you fell down the stairs. He said there’s bruising on your arms that isn’t consistent with a fall like you described. He said he has his suspicions, and I definitely have some of my own, but the truth would be better coming from you. Can you please tell me what really happened?”
He reaches over, moving to lift the sleeve of my shirt. I pull away before he can. If Holden sees the bruising on my arms...it’s all over. He’ll know exactly what happened without me saying a word. He’ll end up in jail because he will literally kill David. I lie again. This time to protect my brother.
“I told you what happened, Holden. I was clumsy and fell down the stairs. It would be a miracle if I didn’t have bruises from that. I have no idea what the doctor is talking about.”
He watches me, silently scrutinizing my words and actions. I have to stop him from pushing this.
Giving him a sad little pout, I try to convince him. “You know I’d come to you if anything was wrong. My big, bad brother is always there when I need him.” Throwing in a wink and giggle for good measure, I nudge his shoulder with mine.
He lets out a hesitant laugh, then a heavy sigh. He scrubs his hand down his face and looks over at me again. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. If you’re sure there’s nothing you need to tell me, I’ll let it go. I am always here for you, though.”
He is always there for me, but it’s my turn to protect him. That’s exactly why I turn into his embrace, ignoring the need to wince when his arms tighten on my bruises. I wait for the doctor in the loving arms of my brother. The one place that still gives me a sense of safety.
Trying to bake with my arm in a cast is damn near impossible. I came into work early because I knew things were going to be more difficult, but I’ve had a lot more trouble than I thought.
Hailee comes in the door right as I make it to the front with the first tray of the morning.
“Good morning, Madelyn!” She says, coming around the counter. There’s an instant change in her composure when she sees me. “Oh! Here, let me help! What happened to your arm?”
“I’ve got it but thank you.” I set the tray on the counter and open the display case. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Rumors are already flying, and it hasn’t even been a full day.”
She rolls her eyes as she puts her things under the counter. “Did you forget I don’t know anyone? If I’m not here, I’m at home. Can’t hear rumors if I’m at home being antisocial.”
“True,” I say with a laugh. “Well, long story short—I fell down the stairs and hit my arm on the way down. I’ll be in a cast for at least six weeks.”
Hailee doesn’t respond, so I look over to see her gaze locked on my arm. My good arm. My sleeve has risen, so I know what she sees, and I can’t drop my arm fast enough to hide them.
“Hails.” —her eyes flicker to mine— “It’s not what you think.”
Her mouth opens and there’s a slight hesitation before she closes it again, taking her lower lip between her teeth.
“Seriously, It’s not a big dea—”
She interrupts, holding up her hand. “I know you haven’t known me long, and I won’t pretend to know what goes on in your life outside of this bakery. But I do know that those bruises aren’t from falling down the stairs.”
My lips part, an argument already forming.
“Nope, let me finish. Whatever you’re dealing with...you don’t deserve that ,” she says, nodding toward my arm. “I’m in no position to judge, or lecture. I’m just saying that there’s never a reason for that to be acceptable. I’m here if you need to talk, and my door is always open if you need a safe place to stay.”
My eyes well with tears.
I’m so tired of fighting. Tired of dealing with everything on my own. But there’s no way I’ll put any of this on Hailee’s shoulders. Stress isn’t good for her, or the baby, and she has enough of her own crap to deal with. I won’t be an extra burden.
“Thanks, Hails. I’m glad to have you in my life.”